Barn-door hanger.



P. FRANTZ.

BARN DOOR HANGER. APPLICATION FILED 001:. 23, 1911.

1,070,243. Patented Aug. 12, 1913.

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f 1 1 5 WWW! %1 IHHWIIHHW) UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

PETER FBANTZ, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR' TO FIt-ANTZ MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BARN-DOOR HANGER.

To all 'whomit may concern:

Be it known that 1, PETER FRANTZ, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of Sterling, Whiteside county, Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Barn-Door Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to door hangers in general, but more particularly to door hangers that involve a hinge connection from the wheel to the door, and especially to door hangers of this character in which the said connection is provided with a guard that projects upwardly inside of the track on which the wheel travels when the door is opened and closed.

Gene-rally stated, the object of my invention is to provide a novel and highly refilcient door hanger of the foregoing general. character.

Special objects are to provide an improved cap for covering the wheel and the bearings thereof; to provide a novel and convenient method of mounting the wheel; to provide a hinge connection that is flexible in one direction but not in the other; to provide a construct-ion in which the hinge joint is disposed off center to make the wheel have a tendency to incline inward, and in which means are provided for opposing this tendency to keep the hanger steady; to provide a novel and effective cam device for raising and lowering the door on the hanger; and to provide certain details and combinations tending to increase the general eificiency and serviceability of a door hanger of this particular character.

To these and other useful ends, my invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is an edge view or side elevation of adoor hanger embodying the principles of my invention, showing certain parts thereof in vertical section, and showing the adjacent wall and door of the building in section. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the door hanger shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section on line 38 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail section on line M in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective of the vertical hanger strap. Fig. 6 is a perspective of the drop strap. Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing a difierent form Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 23, 1911 Patented Aug. 12,1913. Serial No; 656,185.

of my invention. Fig. 8 is a perspective of the upper portion of the drop strap shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a front elevation, with certain parts broken away, of the door hanger shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 10 shows a modification of my invention.

As thus illustrated, and referring to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, my invention comprises an ordinary track A for the usual grooved wheel B. This track is supported on the wall C of the building in any suitable, known or approved manner. The vertical hanger stra a D is made as shown in Fig. 5, being provi ded with an upturned inner portion (Z that serves as a guard, and a separate and reversely bent portion d that serves as a pintle bearing. The upper end of said hanger strap D has an opening (Z for the axle E of the wheel, and four small punched-out projections (Z adjacent thereto. The horizontal strap F is bent into shape to surround the wheel, and the ends of this strap meet on the outer surface of the strap D, being formed with half round openings that engage the axle- E, and having, also, holes 7 that engage the projections (Z on the hanger strap. The axle E- has a shoulder e that bears against the inner surface of the strap D, and the other end of said axle extends through the back of the loop formed'by the strap 'F. Both ends of the said axle are then riveted over, as shown in'Fig. 1, whereby the two straps are rigidly secured together, and the wheel D properly mounted for rotation.

A sheet metal cap G is fitted over the strap F and serves to protect the wheel. This cap has outwardly bent portions 9 and. 9 that fit over the front and rear rounded ends of the rivet-like axle E, whereby the bearings of the wheel are fully protected, and the cover is firmly but removably held in place.

The drop strap H is formed as shown in Fig. 6. It has an upstanding upper end portion h which is offset or displaced inwardly relatively to the body of the strap. Below this portion 72, the strap is formed with a depressed portion it that serves as a seat for the pintle bearing (Z', and with upward-1y deflected side portions it that rest When the pintle I is in place, it will be seen that the axis of the hinge joint thus formed is not directly below the track A, but to the contrary is displaced a little and thus brought inside of and out of line with said track. This causes the wheel B to have a tendency to incline inward in its effort to shift the center of the weight directly under the tread of the wheel. This tendency, however, is normally opposed by the fiatwise engagen'ient of the portion 72, with the portion (Z, whereby the joint is held stiti in this di-- rection, but permitted to flex in the other direction. In this way the weight of the door J is utilized to hold the hanger stiff and firm on the track, notwithstanding that a hinge pivot is used in the connection.

The bolts K extend through the slots 7i to attach the drop strap H to the door. The single bolt I. extends through the slot h for the same purpose. A pivoted member M has its upper end secured by a rivet m in the hole and has its lower portion formed with a cam slot m The bolt L extends through the cam slot m, and the member M has vertical side flanges m that serve as a means for engagement with a loop to move the member about its pivot to raise and lOWer the door. This raising and lowering is, it will be seen, aroduced by the cooperation of the cam slot on and bolt L, said slot being eccentric to the axis of swinging movement.

The bolts II and L are preferably of small diameter, and to preventinjury to the wood of the door, the diameter of the bolt L is increased by a bushing Z, whereby this belt will not cut into the wood under the pressure and action of the cam adjustment.

In Figs. 7, S and 9, the construction Is substantially the same as that shown in the preceding figures, except that the drop strap N is reversed. In other words, in Fig. l the drop strap II is attached outside of the door, necessitating an inward bend or displacement of the top of the said strap. In Fig. 7, however, the strap is secured to the inside of the door, which necessitates an out ward bend or displacement of the upper end of the strap N, in the manner shown. The strap N is, therefore, given the shape shown in I ig. 8, being formed with the upstanding portion a and the pintle bearing portion a, which latter embraces the portion (Z when the connection is made. The portions 01 and (Z are normally flatwise together to resist the tendency of the joint to move outward until it finds the center of gravity, as in the construction shown in Fig. 1 and previously described. Also, with this form ot my invention, the strap N has merely round bolt holes, and is non-adjustably secured to the door.

In any case, as shown, the portion cl keeps the hanger from jumping the track, as it is close to and somewhat higher than the lower edge of the track, being immediately inside of the track, whereby upward and outward movements of the hanger are limited.

In Fig. 10 the wheel B is the same as in the previous form of my invention, but the hanger strap Q, has a bent upper end 9 that serves as a bearing for both ends of the axle or shoulder rivet q, the said upper end being bent down as shown. This form of mounting for the wheel may be used in conjunction with the other features, it the strap F is not desired.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I provide a novel and etlicient construction of door hanger in which certain features heretoitore considered necessary are dispensed with.

lVha-t I claim as my invention is:

1. In a door hanger, a track, a wheel adapted to travel on said t ack, a connection for supporting the door on said wheel, said connection comprising a hinge joint disposed below and inward of said track, whereby said wheel has a tendency to in cline inward, and said connection having upstanding means for opposing said tendency, and for thereby keeping the wheel upright on the track.

2. In a door hanger, a track, a wheel adapted to travel on said track, a connection for supporting the door on said wheel, said connection comprising a hinge joint disposed below said track, and said connection having upstanding engaging portions which are normally in contact with each other to prevent articulation of said joint in one direction, but which separate when the hinge is flexed in the other direction.

3. In a door hanger, a track, a wheel adapted to travel on said track, and a conncction for supporting the door on said wheel, said connection comprising a hinge joint disposed below and inward of said track, whereby said wheel has a tendency to incline inward, said joint having two upstanding and normally engaging portions that project upwardly inside of the lower edge of the track, nd which normally prevent articulation of the joint in one direction, but which separate to permit movement in the other direction.

l. In a door hanger, a track, a wheel adapted to travel on said track, and a connection for supporting the door on said wheel, said connection comprising a hinge joint disposed below said track, whereby said wheel has a tendency to incline inward, said connection having a single means serving both as a guard and to keep the said joint normally stilt in one direction, but adapted to permit movement in the other direction.

5. In a door hanger, a wheel, a mountingproviding fixed bearings for said wheel, whereby the wheel rotates about an axis which is fixed relative to the said mounting, and a protecting cap fitting over said mounting to cover the said Wheel and bearings, which cap is open only at the bottom thereof.

6. In a door hanger, a wheel, a vertical strap, a horizontal strap surrounding said Wheel, said vertical strap having projections, the horizontal strap having its meeting ends provided With openings, to receive said projections, and means passing through the Wheel to support the same and hold the said straps together, whereby the meeting ends of the horizontal strap are held in place.

7. In a door hanger, a drop strap for at- -tachment to the door, a Wheel, a track for said Wheel, and a mounting for the Wheel, said mounting having an upturned inner portion that projects upward, inside of the lower edge of said rail, a hinge below and outside of said upturned portion, and means below said upturned portion for attachment to the upper end of said drop strap, together with means engaging said upturned portion to limit the flexibility of said hinge in one direction.

8. In a door hanger, a wheel, a vertical strap supported by said Wheel, a track for the said Wheel, and a drop strap for attachment to the door, said straps having their engaging ends formed to provide a separable pintle bearing, a removable pintle for said bearing and an inner portion of said vertical strap at the inner side of said bearing being upturned to project upwardly inside of the lower edge of said track, together With means engaging said upturned portion to limit the flexibility of said hinge in one direction.

9. In a door hanger, a hinged drop strap for attachment to the outside of the door, bolts therefor, a cam for engaging one of said bolts to raise and lower the door on the said drop strap, and a pivot for said cam, mounted on said strap.

10. A door hanger comprising a depending hanger strap having an inner surface, a drop strap hinged on the lower end of said hanger strap, and an upstanding portion on the drop strap engaging said inner surface to preventflexing of the hinge in one direction.

Signed by me at Sterling, Illinois, this 20th day of October, 1911.

PETER FRANTZ.

Witnesses:

W. K. PALMER, M. Y. HAGAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C. 

